


Pictures of a different time

by iamtheenemy (Steph)



Series: Coda series [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: M/M, Pining, Post-Episode Season 3 Episode 10: Sebastien Raine, Pre-Slash, Unresolved Sexual Tension, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 15:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17831342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steph/pseuds/iamtheenemy
Summary: It was liberating to finally get one over on Sebastien Raine -- both literally and figuratively. If it made David feel a little slimy in the aftermath, well, it wouldn’t be sex with Sebastien without the lingering regret and shame anyway. At least this time he did it with his eyes open. And a condom.Patrick meets Sebastien Raine.





	Pictures of a different time

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to see a story about Patrick meeting Sebastien Raine, so I made it happen.

It was liberating to finally get one over on Sebastien Raine -- both literally and figuratively. If it made David feel a little slimy in the aftermath, well, it wouldn’t be sex with Sebastien without the lingering regret and shame anyway. At least this time he did it with his eyes open. And a condom.

After he and his mother left Sebastien gaping like a fish, he stopped by his room to wash up, eat a bagel, and grab the keys to the store before heading out to do some more setting up. There were only a few weeks before Rose Apothecary was officially opened, and he still had an overwhelming amount of work to do.

When he arrived, he was unsurprised to see his new business partner through the picture windows, already sorting organic candles. In the short time that they’d been working together, David learned that Patrick was a disgustingly chipper morning person -- morning to David defined as any time before noon. Such was the disparity in their schedules that David had had a key made for Patrick after the first week to save them both hassle.

He slowed down on his way to the door, admiring the way that the muscles in Patrick’s back shifted beneath his usual light blue button down shirt as he carried another box of candles in from the storage area. 

David let himself watch until he reached the door, then with a brisk shake of his head banished those thoughts back to the dark recesses of his mind. He was happy that neither Alexis nor Stevie were with him, because he was sure that his less-than-purely-business thoughts were written all over his face before he reined it in.

“Morning,” David said breezily when he’d gotten his game face on, removing his sunglasses and glancing around. “You’ve done a lot this morning.”

Patrick turned around at the greeting and smiled. “All to your exact specifications, I promise. You’re here already?”

“Hmm, I woke up early, decided to get some work done,” David answered vaguely, not at all interested in sharing with Patrick the details of his mutually exploitative dalliance with Sebastien the night before. He began fiddling with the packets of incense, straightening each one and making sure that the label was front and center. After a moment, he looked up and found Patrick staring at him. “What?” he asked self-consciously.

Patrick abruptly looked away, returning his focus to the box of candles. He cleared his throat. “Nothing, I just...I like your [jacket](http://oi66.tinypic.com/kc8c2.jpg).”

David glanced down, surprised that polyester-and-denim Patrick had an interest in leather coats. “I got it on vacation in Nice.”

“Well, it looks good on you,” Patrick said. 

David ducked his head and bit his lip to try and keep from smiling. It took an embarrassingly long moment before he could force out a choked, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Patrick said. “I’m just gonna...grab another box.” He walked back into the storage area, and David was left once again feeling off-kilter by a confusing encounter with him. 

On the other hand, it was a fantastic coat, and the only good thing that came out of that trip to Nice -- unless you could call chlamydia ‘good’.

He was rearranging the incense into a more aesthetically pleasing array when he heard the door open behind him. “We’re clos--” His mouth snapped shut at the sight of Sebastien walking in.

“This is quaint,” Sebastien said, taking it all in.

David stared at him, frozen, for long seconds before he regained his senses. “Sebastien? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Your mother mentioned you bought this place during our session,” Sebastien answered. He picked up a bag of incense and examined it.

“No, I mean, _why_ \-- don’t,” David said, snatching the satchel out of his hand. “Don’t touch anything. I mean _why_ are you here? Right now?” 

“I really enjoyed our time together last night,” Sebastien answered, making David gape at him.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked.

“You know, this provincial, small town general store you have just...it feels like real life. Like pain and renewal all at once. I’d love to take some pictures of it,” Sebastien said. He stepped back and extended his arms, making two ‘L’s with the thumb and pointer finger of each hand to simulate a camera lens. “It’s haunting in its beauty.”

“Stop -- would you stop doing that with your hands? You need to leave. Like, town. You need to leave town,” David said.

“I will, but my flight isn’t until eight tonight.” He moved in closer, causing David to take a lurching step back. “I thought you and I could make some more memories. You know, anger looks really good on you.”

“ _Oh_ my god.” David looked up at the ceiling and covered his eyes with his hand, trying to hold in his frustration. “You are _un_ believable.”

“And you’re unforgettable,” Sebastien said, making David snort.

“I’m sorry, was I unforgettable when you _literally_ forgot me in that nightclub in Manhattan?” David asked. 

“My therapist says you need to let go of the past in order to carve a path for your future. Look at you, you’re so tense.” Sebastien reached out and put his hands on David’s shoulders, massaging them.

David pushed him away. “It’s _you_ ,” he said. “ _You’re_ making me tense.”

Sebastien stepped somehow even closer, using his slight height advantage to crowd David in a way that David used to find incredibly sexy but was now just kind of sleazy. “I want to photograph you wearing nothing but that jacket.”

There was a loud bang, and David and Sebastien both jumped and turned to look. Patrick was behind the counter, a box of candles dumped haphazardly on top of it.

“Hi,” Patrick said, walking around to where the two of them were standing in the middle of the store. 

“Patrick,” David replied, closing his eyes in humiliation. He _really_ didn’t want Patrick to witness firsthand more of David’s poor life choices, not after the voicemail debacle.

“Who’s this?” Sebastien asked.

“This is my business partner,” David answered.

“And who are you?” Patrick asked. He walked over and stood next to David, cocking his head in an expression that David had never seen from him before, his arms folded across his chest.

“No one. He was just leaving, Patrick,” David said, looking pointedly at Sebastien.

“Patrick, huh?” Sebastien said, and David groaned. “Your eyes...they’re amazing. Like chipped diamonds. I’m thinking some close up shots of them, high res.”

“No…?” Patrick said, sounding bemused, just as David stepped in front of him, blocking him from Sebastien’s view.

“ _Ohhh_ kay,” he cried. “First of all, that compliment doesn’t even make sense. Second, could you stop it for, like, five seconds? Your sweet talk isn’t going to work on Patrick. He’s straight. So please. Go to a movie if you need something to pass the time.”

“This thing will never truly be over between us, David,” Sebastien said. “There has to be a reason that we met again after all this time.”

“Yes, and that reason is that you were taking advantage of my mother,” David explained.

“And last night? How do you explain that?” Sebastien asked.

David stole a glance at Patrick, who had tensed up behind him, clearly reacting to David’s frustration. David felt his face heat up. 

“Last night was nothing. Last night was me taking back what you stole from my mother. And now it’s done, so you can leave and never come back.”

“Small town life has tamed you,” Sebastien said, but he finally stepped back towards the door. “I’ll call you.”

David scoffed. “No, you won’t,” he answered with certainty.

When Sebastien stepped out of the store and headed to the cafe, David let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I am _so_ sorry about that,” he told Patrick.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Patrick said.

“Ahhh.” He shook his body out, trying to release the tension in his muscles. “So that was Sebastien.”

“It sure was,” Patrick replied. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, just embarrassed. Sebastien is...a relic from my past that I would have rather stayed buried. And yes, he’s always like that.”

“So you guys…?” Patrick trailed off.

“We dated for a couple of months, years ago,” David answered.

“And last night?”

David looked away. “Last night was a strategic decision on my part, in order to get a memory card full of pictures that he’d taken of my mother that she wanted back. It was basically an undercover op.”

Patrick’s mouth quirked up. “An undercover op? Are you James Bond?” 

“Maybe. But if I told you, I’d have to kill you,” David answered.

“So, to clarify: In order to get a memory card, you had sex with him…” Patrick trailed off.

“Then destroyed the card after he fell asleep -- which didn’t take long. Sebastien isn’t what I’d call a _considerate_ partner.” David made sarcastic quotation marks with his fingers to emphasize the word ‘considerate.’

“Ahh, I see. Good to know. Well done, 007,” Patrick said, walking over and picking up the box he’d brought from the back.

“Thanks,” David said, squinting down at the incense and tapping his foot awkwardly.

“David?” Patrick said.

“Yeah?” David answered, glancing up at him.

“I think I should tell you...I’m not…” Patrick began.

David shook his head, confused. “Not what?”

Patrick let out a deep breath. “Not straight,” he replied, and then focused his attention on sorting the candles. “It’s just...you said that to Sebastien, so I thought you should know.”

David grabbed the table with both hands, feeling lightheaded as everything he knew about Patrick shifted. 

“Oh, um," he shook his head. "I’m sorry that I assumed…”

“It’s ok,” Patrick assured him. “Seriously, it’s fine. But since we’re business partners...”

 _Business partners_ , David repeated in his head. _Business partners._ Just because he wasn’t straight didn’t make him any more available to David than he was before. _Business partners._

“Right, well, of course. I mean, your sexual orientation is your own business,” David replied. “It has nothing to do with me. But I’m glad that you trusted me enough to tell me.”

“Right,” Patrick agreed. He placed one of the candles too close to the edge of the table and it tumbled to the ground. “Shit.”

“And I’m also not straight,” David said to the top of Patrick’s head as he retrieved the dropped candle.

Patrick looked up with an amused grin. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“Sure, obviously,” David said, grinning back. “Let me help with that.”


End file.
